High Fructose Corn Syrup
Harmless sweetener or obesity culprit?
HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP (HFCS) ISN'T JUST IN YOUR SODA. You can find it in yogurt, juice, bread, ketchup, bacon, and a host of other products. Each day, the average American unwittingly consumes over 11 teaspoons of HCFS—that’s 38 pounds every year! It accounts for nearly half the amount of sweetener used in the U.S. annually.
Made from federally subsidized corn, HFCS is cheaper than regular sugar. But corn requires more fertilizers and pesticides than other crops; and constant production weakens topsoil and pollutes watersheds. Critics say HFCS is to blame for ballooning obesity rates in the U.S. Others say it is no worse than sugar, and that both are harmful in large amounts. Who is right?
WHAT YOU CAN DO
Urge Congress to Tax High Fructose Corn Syrup
Sign the petition to make cheap, processed foods with HFCS in them more expensive.
User Comments
Mercury Found in High Fructose Corn Syrup
“Potentially dangerous levels of mercury have been found in high fructose corn syrup and foods containing the sweetener, according to two new studies. I’d like to thank the researchers for…”
BY THE NUMBERS
|
43 pounds of sweetener is consumed by the average American each year http://bit.ly/tp0041 |
1 percent of corn grown is sweet corn, the type we actually eat... http://bit.ly/tp0041 |
